ForConstructionPros.com

As Brainerd International Raceway prepares for a new racing season, Scott Quick, general manager of the facility in Brainerd, Minnesota, reflects on the revitalization of its drag strip, which was completed a year ago. Despite weather delays, the BIR drag strip opened for business as usual in May 2003 after undergoing a lengthy and pioneering repaving project designed to make it one of the flattest and fastest quarter--mile tracks in the country. The 34--year--old drag strip saw its last resurfacing 15 years ago.

The unique project began after the end of racing season in October 2002. C. R. Meyer & Sons, a family--owned company based in Rhinelander, Wisconsin, was chosen to revamp the nationally renowned drag strip because of its expertise in super--flat indoor concrete. Project Manager Ed Shaughnessy is a local drag racer who has competed at BIR for 15 years. Because of his familiarity with the track and the sport, Shaughnessy knew exactly what problems to expect and worked closely with C.R. Meyer’s engineering department to address them.

“It was good to have a racer overseeing this project,” says Quick. “Ed understood it better than anyone else could have.”

Continuous Pour and Other Techniques

“This is the biggest C.R. Meyer design implemented outside in the weather,” says Shaughnessy. In fact, C. R. Meyer designed a special jig and brought in a 30--ton crane to reach over the existing pit walls to cause as little disruption as possible. “It was an impressively big project,” he says.

The biggest challenges (other than the weather) were the 400--yard pours in the racing lanes. A total of 1,200 yards of concrete was poured in the racing lanes, extending the concrete surface farther down the track than it previously had been. The pad was increased from 330 to 768 feet. More concrete means better traction for racers.